General Convention Grapples with Wide Range of International Issues
Episcopal News Service. September 7, 1994 [94141]
David Skidmore, Communications Officer for the Diocese of Chicago
Despite an obvious focus on internal issues of sexuality, women's ordination and the budget, the General Convention spent considerable time examining and affirming the church's role as an international peacemaker, determined to keep faith with Anglicans in trouble spots around the world.
A day after concurring with the deputies on a resolution backing a single standard of justice for Palestinians and Israelis, the House of Bishops balked at endorsing a comprehensive set of anti-discrimination guidelines and affirmative action principles for companies operating in Northern Ireland, and was mute regarding the recent peace overture by the Irish Republican Army. On the final day of convention the bishops sent back to the deputies a resolution (D031/a) supporting peace in Northern Ireland after striking out a section endorsing the MacBride Principles that had been adopted by the 1988 General Convention. The nine principles call for non-discriminatory hiring and termination procedures, banning "provocative religious and political emblems" from the workplace, creating procedures to recruit and promote minority employees, and encouraging investment in Northern Ireland. Though the clock ran out for bishops to consider the resolution, the deputies went ahead with a strong statement in support of the MacBride Principles. Deputy Byron Rushing of Massachusetts argued that the vote at least put the deputies on record in support of efforts by the Church of Ireland's Archbishop Robin Eames and Presiding Bishop Browning to bring justice to a country riven by religious prejudice.
The convention did act more decisively regarding Israeli-Palestinian relations by affirming the Israeli-Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) September 1993 Declaration of Principles, declaring that a durable peace process depended on the U.S. State Department adhering to "a single standard of justice" for both Israel and the PLO.
In passing resolution A-103/a, the convention urged the U.S. government to require Palestinians and Israelis to renounce violence as a terror tactic and method of civilian control as a condition for receiving aid and loan guarantees. In carefully balanced language, the resolution called on Palestinian police "to make every effort to apprehend violators" and on Israel to release all Palestinian political prisoners and detainees.
Another resolution (D-065/a) recognized Israeli settlements in Gaza, West Bank, and East Jerusalem as illegal and obstacles to peace The actions came a day after a delegation of five Jewish leaders urged the bishops to keep dialogues between their two faiths free of "political polemics." Dr. Leon Klenicki of the Anti-defamation League of B'nai Brith warned the bishops that several resolutions before the convention could "represent an unfortunate continuation" of past disputes between Jewish groups and the Episcopal Church over Israeli-Palestinian relations. Dialogue between the two faiths would be enhanced, said Klenicki if the Episcopal Church avoided such unilateral actions and attempted to feel out Jewish positions before drafting legislation. A starting point for future dialogue, he added, might be the "introspection and inner renewal" model of Yom Kippur.
In contrast, Bishop Samir Kafity, president-bishop of the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East, had only praise for the Episcopal Church's role in the Middle East. Kafity lauded the efforts of Presiding Bishop Browning and his wife Patti on behalf of Palestinians in a speech before the bishops. "We were encouraged and strengthened by their repeated pastoral visits that came to us during a time of suffering and agony," he said.
Kafity also praised the 50 diocesan bishops who "came to us as pastors" during the intifada uprising in Gaza and the West Bank. This "mission of compassion" also led to expanding the bilateral Anglican-Jewish dialogue to a trilateral process that includes Muslim representatives. This only makes sense, said Kafity, given that 30 percent of the Middle East is Muslim. "We come from the same roots," he added "and share the same objectives of peace and hope."
At an evening forum, Archbishop Desmond Tutu thanked Episcopalians for their efforts in helping dismantle apartheid. With apartheid vanquished and a democratic government in place, the time has come for reinvestment in South Africa, he said.
Tutu described South Africa's elections this spring as a spiritual turning point and "mountain top experience." The elections both restored the dignity of blacks and lifted centuries of guilt from whites, said Tutu. "We went into the voting booth one person and came out a different person."
The convention also paid attention to other trouble spots in the world, including the Cuban and Haitian embargoes, the Philippine insurgency, the Korean-Japanese dispute over war crimes reparations, and the civil war in Rwanda. From 1983 to 1993 the church maintained a united front in boycotting South Africa over apartheid, but in 1994 it is split over whether to lift or continue the embargo on Cuba. By a narrow margin (410 to 369), the deputies rejected a resolution (A-099/a) urging the U.S. government to lift the embargo and remove restrictions on travel between the United States and Cuba. A later move by the deputies to reconsider the measure failed.
Those arguing for lifting the embargo cited the hardships it has brought to the Cuban people.
"People have suffered tremendously over the past 30 years," said Diana Frade, wife of Bishop Leopold Frade of Honduras. "What we have imposed on the Cuban people is not working," she added. "What we need to do is begin relationship with Cuba so that people can stay on their island instead of trying to get off."
However deputies from Florida prevailed in arguing against lifting the embargo because it would remove all incentive for political reform, said Manuel Mesa of Southeast Florida. "The American people ask for the lifting of the embargo, but they never ask Castro to lift the embargo he has put on the people in Cuba," he said.
The convention also called for ending military aid to the Philippines, took a firm stand on Japan paying war crimes reparations, and pledged support for the people of Rwanda.
Both houses approved a resolution (D-129/a) urging a negotiated settlement to the tribal bloodbath in Rwanda. The vote followed a plea from Archbishop Nshamihigo Shyira, primate of the Episcopal Church of the Province of Rwanda, in a letter to the House of Bishops.
In his letter, Shyira pleaded with the bishops to urge the U.S. government to help broker a political solution to the strife between the majority Hutu and minority Tutsi peoples. The international community's response with food and medical aid has been a God-send, but the ultimate cure for this tragedy lies in the political arena, he said. Luring Rwandans back to their homeland with humanitarian assistance without a political solution in place or in progress, he said, exposes them to reprisals.
Japanese war crimes during World War II was the focal point of intense debate in both houses over a measure (D-008) condemning the Japanese Imperial Army's exploitation of Korean women as sex slaves. The church also went on record supporting an end to U.S. military aid to the Philippines and supporting reduction and restructuring of the Philippine debt to the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. The resolution (A-097/a) calls for ending military aid to the Philippines as a way to discourage the "total war" strategy of the Philippine government against insurgents.
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